Insurgency in a Small Country, Ethnic Revolt in Sri Lanka
Abstract
The protracted insurgency in Sri Lanka is a vicious by-product of prolonged ethnic conflict between Sri Lanka's majority Sinhala Community and the minority Tamil Community. The current wave of violence can be traced back to the early 1970s, when a group of Sri Lankan Tamil politicians who had lost power in an election began to campaign earnestly for an independent Tamil State. Their rhetoric against the Sinhala community and the government in Colombo galvanized a few employed and under-employed Tamils to take up arms against the state. The formative phase of violence inspired by Tamil nationalism was directed against fellow Tamils who did not support the idea of a separate state; these victims included Tamil politicians, police officers, government officials and suspected informants. Sri Lanka's armed forces were incapable of meeting the militant threat during this period, not unsurprisingly, given that they were primarily trained to perform ceremonial functions. By the time the military was able to transform itself into a professional fighting force, the militants had developed a mastery of guerrilla warfare.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Apr 07, 2003
- Accession Number
- ADA415340
Entities
People
- P. S. Kulatunge
Organizations
- United States Army War College